Tag: Christmas

How many books have you received as gifts at this time of year, during your lifetime? Can you remember all of them? Were they all good? No doubt we can all remember a handful of stories but what is it that makes the really good ones stand out in our minds?

At this time of year, the story of Christmas is waved around and we all recognise the details because we’ve all heard them all before so many times. So many people around the world will just ‘know’ what the details are and what the sub-text of the story is. Could you imagine having that kind of reach as an author? J.K.Rowling and then some.

Now the point of this post isn’t to make any kind of comment regarding religion, rather an investigation of longevity.

Religions are a great example of how people spread the word on a specific topic, drawing others into the shared mindset. Peoples have also passed the details of stories down through the years. The oral tradition in so many cultures has allowed for all those stories within said culture to be sent through the ages without the need for a written text. Written histories have replaced the spoken but they still perform the same function, allowing the cultural significance to be carried on.

Today, familial, national and international stories are passed around and there are more and more ways for those stories to pass from one person to the next but ease of passing has no weight on a stories longevity.

Tales of communities were given from generation to generation as part of a rite of passage, religions have been handed on as the keys to a better life but also under the threat of untold agony in the here after, and in ages gone by, this life as well.

So it would appear that a strong fan base is the way to go. If I can have fans helping me spread the word, an ever growing group of people spreading the word for me and extolling the virtues of my stories, maybe I’ll be able to have the stories of mine reaching out and lasting for who knows how long.

Enjoy the silly season everyone, and if you’re at a loss for a gift idea, give The Circle of Fire a go.

The last post of the year, I hope it’s up to the standard you all expect. Actually I hope it’s better than that but hey hoo.

What a journey I’ve been on this last twelve months in my special little world of writing and hopefully the next year will be bigger and somewhat hairier.

This year I’ve managed to actually get the blog going on a regular routine and I’ve just crossed the one thousand view mark before we pass into 2015.

My stock of short stories has been growing at a remarkable rate and some have leaked out into the real world. One has even become a short audiobook.

Add to this a strong route to actually getting my first book, The Circle of Fire, published and 130 new likes of my Facebook page and doubling my followers on Twitter, and 2014 has proven to be a pretty positive year.

That’s right world. We’re all approaching the big day and we all have to try our best to strike a balance between seeing family, relaxing and splurging wads of cash on all manner of who knows what.

I had written a post in preparation for tonight but today has changed my mind on what I was going to say.

It had previously all been about the importance of longevity in storytelling, how the human race use stories to say any and everything but that will have to go back in the box and be re-worked for a future date.

Instead, I ask everyone to make the most of whatever or whoever they have in their lives that makes them smile. There are so many things that seem to be forming a line to take a swipe at us as we make our way through life, we’ve got to remember to stop and make the most of the good bits.

Everyone have a good time with whoever or whatever brings you joy and enjoy the silly season. I’ll be bringing monsters and magic and who knows what else to this blog in the new year so stay with me.